The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1876.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 9, 11 January 1876, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1876.

Otjb pretty little railway, as well constructed but as ill designed as any in the colony, is at last completed, and is ready to be handed over to the General Government, in accordance with whose wishes it has been proceeded with as leisurely as in common decency it possibly could. It commences as far as from the business centre of the town as any cabman could possibly wish, and the station which is to be its country terminus is located in just such an inconvenient, unpayable a position as the greatest enemy to the welfare of Nelson could possibly desire. Still, it is completed, and in the course of a few days we shall probably be called upon to rejoice as heartily as we may at the progress of civilisation, as displayed in this remarkable public work. We delight in no man's disappointment, and therefore sincerely trust that the Minister of Public Works has not calculated upon any very large receipts from what he is pleased to call the Nelson and Foxhiil railway. About the whole proceedings connected wish this line there has been a consistency that the observant onlooker cannot fail to admire and appreciate. The termini having been placed in exactly such sites as must ensure the smallest possible amount of traffic, the railway has been laid out through a line of country least calculated to facilitate the carriage of heavy goods. It would cheer the heart of a con- 1 sumptive patient to watch the agonies endured by the engine as it struggles upwards from the Waimea plain to the summit of Jenkins' Hill. Put but a few half-loaded trucks behind it, and it pants, wheezes, groans, and stops to regain breath in a manner tkat would make the most depressed of one-lunged men feel comparatively hale and hearty. So that as it has carefully avoided the timber district of Foxhiil, and, from the absence of any connection with the wharf at the town end, is not likely to be troubled with the conveyance of farm produce, it is admirably well calculated to perform all that it is reasonable to expect will be required of it. But it would perhaps have been well had the Government looked a little into the future and considered that some day it might be desirable to render this railway useful. Mr Staflord, when recently addressing a meeting of electors at Timaru, said : — " There is one general principle that ought to be established as regards the railways of the colony, namely, that they ought to be connected with the wharves and shipping." In our case, however, this is the very principle that has been overlooked. How long will it be ere the Government recognise the necessity of remedying the omission they have made in this respect ?

The numerous friends of Mr "Wilkie, one of the oldest settlers in the province, will learn with regret that he this morning received a telegram from Dunedin informing him of the death of his son Alexander. Deceased was one of the delegates sent by the Good Templars to Dunedin, and before he had been there long he was attacked by the fever which is so prevalent in that city just now, and succumbed to it last night. The greatest sympathy is expressed for the parents of the young man, whose death will prove a heavy blow to them. The weekly practices of the Harmonic Society, which have been discontinued during the holidays, will be resumed on Thursday evening. The next concert will consist of Barnett's favorite cantata, "Paradise and the Peri." A meeting of those desirous-of forming a boating club was held at the Trafalgar Hotel last night, when twenty seven were present. Several names were handed in of those who were willing to join, and a sub-committee consisting of Messrs Grace, Maling, Tennent, and Menary was appointed to canvass for both active and honorary members, and to report at a meeting to be held on Monday next. A sbecial meeting of the City Council was held last night, when Messrs Akersten. Brown, Levestam, Moutray, and Webster were present by invitation to discuss the City Sur-. veyor's report regarding the extension of the waterworks, Mr Levestam spoke at considerable length, and gave it as his opinion that there was no immediate necessity for the proposed extension. Mr Akersten was in favor of the scheme, as he considered it to be above all things necessary that there

should be a plentiful supply of water. Mr Moutray thought that with some alterations the "report should be acted upon, and believed if there were plenty of water there would be; a greater demand • for it as. a motive power. Mr Webster* would give* nd; opinion upon the professional aspect of the question, but from a commercial point of view he regarded the proposed extension as un* called for at present. He used the water as a motive power, and had no reason to complain of .any deficiency in the supply. These gentlemen then withdrew, having received the thanks of the Council tor their attendance. Cr Harley then moved, and Cr Levien seconded, " That in the opinion of this Council it is not advisable to extend the water supply to the town at present, but that the new dam as proposed in the report, and the larger pipe to connect it with the reservoir, should be proceeded with at once." Cr Waters thought the Council would not be justified in expending any very large sum of money on the extension.. That portion of j the scheme which he considered really necessary he should be prepared to support, but he did not think that the whole of it was required. On the motion of Cr Everett, seconded by Cr Pickering, it was resolved, " That further consideration of the water supply question be deferred until the next meeting of the Council, to allow time for the due consideration of the questions raised by the gentlemen invited to meet the Council this evening." The Council then adjourned until Eriday evening. The first annual general meeting of the subscribers to the Nelson Aid Society was held at the Masonic Hall last evening, the Right Reverend the Bishop of Nelson in the cbair. The annual report of the Society was read and passed, and also its audited statement of accounts. From the report it appears that since the first preliminary meeting in August last the Society has received in subscriptions and donations £71. It has given substantial aid in eight cases, besides trifling temporary help to others, and is now assisting three cases. It has remaining a working balance of £45. The rules and regulations were then read and passed, with no alteration except the substitution of July foi* January as the time of year for the annual general meeting. The following gentlemen were then elected as the new Committee of management : — His Honor the District Judge, Messrs Acton Adams, Boor, A. Kerr, and Hunter Brown. Mr Reid, the Returning Officer at Port Chalmers, has been getting into bad odour. The Otago Guardian says: — The conduct of the Returning Officer at Port Chalmers on Monday last was somewhat extraordinary. After Mr Reynolds had answered such questions as were put to him, the Returning Officer called for a show of hands, first for that gentleman and then for Mr Green. Having counted out he declared a tie, but this the friends of either side would not accept, pressing for a second count. The Returning Officer endeavored to appease both parties by assuring them that a show of hands was practically of no consequence, and urged the acceptance of his decision. The uproar, however, was so great that he could not further resist the pressure. On the second attempt he made the show of hands 40 for Mr Reynolds, and 42 for Mr Green, although it was patent to the most casual observer that the number held up for Mr Reynolds was far in [excess of that shown for Mr Green. After some delay and discussion, Mr Reynolds, in order to put an end to the dispute, said he would demand a poll. When the proposal was made by Mr Green that the usual vote of thankg should be accorded the Returning Officer, there was a general shojit of " Nb, no" — a testimony to the fact that a wrong — unintentionally, no doubt— was committed. Me Ballance, a stauch supporter of the present Ministry, has been returned for Rangitikei by a majority of 74 over his opponent, Mr Bull. The flooring of a store in Durhamstreet Westj Auckland, gave way on Wednesday evening, in consequence of overloading. Between fifty and sixty tons of bone dust in sacks were stacked en the floor, when, shortly -after the men had left for the day, the flooring fell with a crash into the cellar below. Eortunately no person was injured. A Parisian dealer in forage has just brought an action against Prince Napoleon for the sum of 7,000 francs, the price of forage supplied to his Imperial Highness's horses during the siege. The dealer produced receipts duly signed by one Hubert, the Prince'a head stableman, tbe Intendant of the Palais Royal not having been in pans during the siege, and not having been able, therefore, to duly acknowledge the receipt of every bushel of corn. The Prince pleaded that Hubert was not in his service after the 15th of December. But it appeared tbat this man had nevertheless been cominismissioned to sell some oi his master's horses after the siege, and that he had succeeded in doing so. The Prince also complained that some of his animals, among which was his charger, had been requisitioned by General Trochu. What a satire all this on. the stability of institutions in France! Who would have dared to prophesy in the spring of 1870 that the Imperial «« cheval de bataille "' would so soon be ridden by the French General least favorable to the Empire, and that the Imperial Prince would be sued in a court of law for the price of his keep? Judgment I was deferred fojj a week, )

A former resident of Neufchatel, in Switzerland , desorihes in the Geelong ■Advertiser what he declares to be ah equitable system of taxation peculiar to that part of the World. The ebief tax imposed is an income tax, but there is, * broad line of distinction drawu between the income derived from a man's property and his earnings, the former being taxed at about ten times the rate of the latter. By this means capitalists in receipt of large incomes are made to contribute largely for the protection aud assistance tbey enjoy, while such as depend on their wages or salary, .nd are consequently not in the Bame position to contribute, are only taxed to a very moderate extent. The system is said to work in a way that is extremely satisfactory to all classes. In a Parliamentary committee for a new railway it had been necessary to prove a certain valley was a populous plaoe. The following questions and answers passed in the process : — " Do you mean to tell the committee," said counsel for oppouents of the new line, " that you never saw an inhabited bouse in that valley ?" " Yes, I do," replied the witness. "Did you ever see a vehicle there in all your life ?" "Yes." "Very good." Some other questions were put, which led to nothing particular, but just as the witness was leaving the bux, the learned gentleman put one more question : " I am instructed to ask you if the vehicle you saw was not tbe hearse of the last inhabitant." "It was." In certain " Papers relating to Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions," issued recently, and which contain statistics, legislation. &c, of the colonies for the year 1873, there is given a single instance of a typographical error oosting the United States Government many thousands of pounds. Governor Pope Henoessy, in his analysis of the Blue Book of the Bahamas says:—. "Owing to a misprint, ia one of the Acts of Congress, the Bahama fruitdealers made an unexpected profit in ' tbe year 1873. On the 6th of June, 1872, an Act of Congress was passed, entitled 'An Aot to reduce Duties on Imports, and to reduce Internal Taxes, and for other purposes.' In the clause there was an original bill exempting from the 20 per cent ad valorem, duty, 4 Fruit-plants, tropical and semi-tropi-cal, for the purpose of propagation or cultivation,' But io the engrossed Acts of Congress a comma was instituted, by a clerical error, for a hyphen, and the exempting words stood thus:— •' Fruit, plants, tropical or semi-tropical, for the purpose of propagation or cultivation." When the mistake was discovered, Congress had risen, and it was too late to rectify it till tbe following session. Meanwhile the Bahama traders brought actions in the United States Courts to recover the 20 per cent ad valorem duty that they had beenjcompelled to pay subsequent to the 6th o^ June, 1872. The United States Government allowed the actions to go by default, as the Secretary of the Treasury decided that the clerical error rendered a new Act of Congress necessary to enforce any duty upon tropical fruit. The United States Consul at Nassau informed me tbat about 50,000d01s were repaid by the United States Government to the Bahama traders in consequence of this mistake. In addition to this no duty was leviable until the Ist of July, 1873, when the Act rectifying the mistake came into operation ; so that the greater part of the fruit-shipping season of the Bahama of this year had tbe advantage of being conducted duty free. As the subjeot of agricultural education is at present occupying attention in South Australia, it is interesting to notice that in consequence of dairy produce, especially butter, having of late years assumed great import-ace in Danish industry, several schools (receiving Government aid) have been established there for the practical instruction of the country youth in tbe best methods of making butter and cheese, and in other operations of the dairy. We learn from a note to the French Society d'Encourngement that there are six such schools at present in Denmark, and all prosperous. To take one in the Island of Zealand as au example:- — M. Svendeen at the head of it, ia assisted by three professors and his wife. From the Ist September to Ist November the establishment contains only girls ; from the 15th November to the Ist August only lads, both classes entering the school at fifteen to eighteen years of age. They pay about £2 a month fbr their board and education. The instruction is both practical and theoretical. For two or three hours daily they receive lessons in the keeping of accounts, dairy management, and natural history; they are instructed in the physiology of milch cowb, the action of the mammary glands, the food of cattle, &c; and in the afternoon some time is given to music and singing. The greater part of the morning, however, is devoted, to practical work in the dairy, where the students are distributed to their allotted tasks of milking, making butter, cleaning utensils, preparing rennet, &c. About 400 to 500 litres of milk are treated daily, all the operations are carefully explained, and the establishment is provided with the newest and best apparatus for dairy work. The students entering these schools (M. Svendeen has about forty yearly of either sex) are chiefly sons and daughters of farmers and proprietors. Tbey come with a good previous education, and generally leave the school with a real enthusiasm for its pursuits,

The success of the system is such that many applicants have to ba refused admission every year. Norway and Sweden are following the example of .Denmark.— Register. , '.;_:; Hiram Robinson was a rich and bachelor.. One afternoon, as Ihey sat smoking after dinner, Jim Clark, one of Hiram's guests, commented on tbe beauty of a new dining-table which tbe latter had recently purchased. i'* Jt'a' ,'the beßt black walnut I ever "saw," said Jim, ** and the only fault T have to find with the cable is this : It.'s just a little too high, A table shouldn't exceed 2ft sin, and that is at least lin higher." "I'll bet you," said Hiram, "That it's only 29ins high." Don't bet, Hiram, I'm sure of it — for my eye, as I have reason td know, is always correct." I'll bet you £50, Jim, that it is only 29ins high." " Oh, if you're willing, Hiram, I'll make the bet; but I tell you beforehand the table is at least 30ins high." "Of course, Jim, if you're right, I'll pay the money at once." " Well, then, fork over the coin — I measured the table this very morning, and it's just 30in. high," and Jim burst into a fit of laughter. " I know you did," said Hiram, " for I saw you do it, and knowing what a penchant you have for practical joking, I immediately suspected your object. Ab soon as you left the house I sent for a carpenter and had an inch sawn off every leg, so you see, my dear friend , Jim, that the biter has been bitten. Hand over the cash." Jim paid Hiram the £50, amid the laughter of everybody but himself. — Melbourne Herald.